Leadership 101 How An Effective Leader Creates An Innovative Culture

An effective leader in a retail organization will have a summary of specific behaviors and rewards that they are looking to implement. These leadership behaviors will create a culture that other employees look to, and follow behavior models that create a culture of rewards.

This will be a direct benefit if certain behaviors are met that create the results that the entrepreneur wants to implement.

The behavior/rewards that are implemented may or may not be the original desired result. If they are not aligned to the initial desired result then the retail owner may need to rethink what is creating the situation that causes it to be out of misalignment. If the behavior results are greater than anticipated, the model should be defined and duplicated quickly before other competitors are privy to the model knowledge. If the desired behavior/result is less than anticipated, then the retail owner needs to determine if it was the design of the system that was ineffective, or the implementation of the system by the people implementing the system wasn’t effective. Once this is determined a solid action plan must be taken with measurable goals and deadlines.

In the first instance if the desired behavior was not achieved due to ineffective systems, then the retail owner must look at changing the system. He can research past successful business models in this industry or try to use innovative tactics from other industries.

In the second instance, if the desired behavior was not achieved due to the implementation of the system then the retail owner needs to look at the way the system was implemented. Was it an ineffective time to implement the system? Was the system not created by understanding what all the different possible results may be? Was the system not the right system? Once this is assessed, then the retail owner needs to look at the people implementing the system?

In the third instance, did the people implementing the system not have the right skills? Were the people fully aware of how the system was supposed to work? Did all the people in the system have the same level of knowledge and were they all on the “same page”? Did the people understand what the desired result to be was in the system that was given to them? Did the people have empowerment to redesign the system if necessary?

Once these three pieces have been assessed, and the weak link is determined a re-evaluation of the leadership model must be made. Things may be adjusted to the model by using the same team and saving valuable hiring costs. The most effective entrepreneurs or retail owners understand that if circumstances change they can quickly change parts of this system to develop effective leaders in the organization.

Leaders that will follow the current system to the desired result and change behaviors or design if necessary. The most successful entrepreneur such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates understand this. These people are more interested in finding people that are empowered to implement innovative styles that are specific to the culture or system without wasting time taking things along a path that does not lead to creating value for the organization.